LOS ANGELES — The biggest storm of the winter walloped Southern California on Thursday, but by Friday morning conditions were improving as the storm subsided.

The storm forced the closure of Pacific Coast Highway, damaged homes and vehicles and brought with it “life-threatening” debris flows just a month after fierce Santa Ana winds propelled a firestorm across L.A. County.

Street flooding and mudslides were reported across the region as the storm moved through late Thursday, with some of the worst damage taking place along PCH. Mud flows and flash floods have also been reported in the Eaton fire burn area in Altadena and on Mulholland and Outpost drives in the Hollywood Hills.

“The atmosphere will dry through the day and both the clouds and showers will decrease,” the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office said in a morning update. “Saturday will be quite the pleasant day.”

It’s a dramatic departure from the peak of the storm on Thursday, when a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department driving along PCH in Malibu was swept off the roadway and into the ocean by a debris flow down Big Rock Drive, according to LAFD spokesperson Erik Scott. He was able to exit his car and was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, Scott said.

Heavy debris flows were reported near Duke’s Malibu, at PCH and Las Flores Canyon Road. The oceanfront restaurant survived the fire but appeared to be sustaining significant flood damage during the storm as Caltrans crews used heavy machinery to scoop up mud and try to clear the roadway.

Pacific Coast Highway was shut down between Chautauqua Boulevard and Carbon Beach Terrace until further notice, according to the California Department of Transportation.

During the storm, an extreme wind event that meteorologists were describing as a possible weak tornado hit a mobile home park in Oxnard, ripping roofs off homes and tearing power lines to the ground, according to the National Weather Service. There were no immediate reports of people harmed, but around a dozen properties were damaged.

Fire crews responded to at least two reports of vehicles trapped in rain flows — a pickup truck in the Elysian Valley and an SUV in Panorama City, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Before the storm intensified Thursday afternoon, Jude Bell had been sitting in her SUV — shielded from the steady drizzle that dampened her red brick home in Altadena — making a list of what needed to be done as she waited for a contractor to arrive.

Her home on Alameda Street, unlike many others a block away, was still standing after the devastating firestorm that tore through the San Gabriel Valley community and left death and destruction in its wake.

Parts of her home were damaged by the powerful Santa Ana winds that accompanied the inferno, and the inside has a lingering smoky smell. A month after the fire, she’s still grappling with her insurance company to get things fixed, and she’s worried about toxic compounds in the soil.

Amid all this, the impending rain felt like just another hurdle. The storm wasn’t top of mind, even as experts warned the rain could unleash destructive debris flows, potentially dealing another devastating blow to the ailing community.

“Who knows?” Bell said with a hint of exhaustion. “The fire wasn’t front of mind, either. I didn’t think my house would be damaged by fire.”

Atmospheric rivers that dropped modest rain across Los Angeles County earlier this month didn’t result in significant damage. But on Thursday, the strongest storm of the winter unleashed heavy rain across the fire zones, prompting evacuations.

In the San Gabriel Valley, where the Eaton fire charred a devastating path — leveling more than 9,400 structures including many homes and killing 17 people — a state report noted that there’s a high likelihood that heavy rain could generate large, damaging post-fire flooding and debris flows.

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